This review of methods for validating writing assessments was conceptualized within a framework suggested by S. Messick (1989) that included five operational components of construct validation: (1) content representativeness; (2) structural fidelity; (3) nomological validity; (4) criterion-related validity; and (5) nomothetic span. (SLD)

A brief history of developments in the assessment of the reliability of credentialing examinations is presented, and some new results are outlined that highlight the interactions among scoring, standard setting, and the reliability and validity of pass-fail decisions. Decision consistency is an important concept in evaluating credentialing…

Issues pertaining to the quality of performance assessments, including reliability and validity, are discussed. The relatively limited generalizability of performance across tasks is indicative of the care needed to evaluate performance assessments. Quality control is an empirical matter when measurement is intended to inform public policy. (SLD)

Alternatives to multiple-choice tests for teacher licensing examinations are described, and their advantages are cited. Concerns are expressed in the areas of cost and practicality, reliability, corruptibility, and validity. A suggestion for reducing costs using multiple-choice responses calibrated to constructed-response tasks is proposed. (SLD)